Man ends Manhattan swim record attempt

UPI News Service, 09/19/2011

A man who attempted to break a record by swimming twice around New York's Manhattan island cut his attempt short due to hamstring troubles and the tides.

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David Barra, 46, of High Falls, N.Y., said he had to end his attempt at about 3:30 a.m. Monday after 9 hours, 54 minutes in the water, having nearly completed a single lap around the island, the New York Daily News reported.

Rondi Davis, who was on Barra's chase boat, said he abandoned the attempt due to troubles with his hamstring that were further agitated by the changing tides in the rivers around Manhattan.

"He was in good condition -- he just knew he couldn't make it through the current," Davis said.

Barra was attempting to beat Skip Storch's 2007 record of 20 hours, 56 minutes for a double-loop swim around Manhattan.

Morty Berger, founder of NYC Swim, the organization behind Barra's attempt, said the swimmer will have to decide whether to go ahead with a planned triple-loop around Manhattan, which was tentatively scheduled for next August.

"Dave is certainly capable of doing the double loop -- and I could certainly see him doing the triple loop," Berger said. "I want to see how he's recovering and what he's thinking. We would expect him to take a couple weeks to reflect."